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Title: SU-E-T-123: Anomalous Altitude Effect in Permanent Implant Brachytherapy Seeds

Abstract

Purpose: Permanent seed implant brachytherapy procedures require the measurement of the air kerma strength of seeds prior to implant. This is typically accomplished using a well-type ionization chamber. Previous measurements (Griffin et al., 2005; Bohm et al., 2005) of several low-energy seeds using the air-communicating HDR 1000 Plus chamber have demonstrated that the standard temperature-pressure correction factor, P{sub TP}, may overcompensate for air density changes induced by altitude variations by up to 18%. The purpose of this work is to present empirical correction factors for two clinically-used seeds (IsoAid ADVANTAGE™ {sup 103}Pd and Nucletron selectSeed {sup 125}I) for which empirical altitude correction factors do not yet exist in the literature when measured with the HDR 1000 Plus chamber. Methods: An in-house constructed pressure vessel containing the HDR 1000 Plus well chamber and a digital barometer/thermometer was pumped or evacuated, as appropriate, to a variety of pressures from 725 to 1075 mbar. Current measurements, corrected with P{sub TP}, were acquired for each seed at these pressures and normalized to the reading at ‘standard’ pressure (1013.25 mbar). Results: Measurements in this study have shown that utilization of P{sub TP} can overcompensate in the corrected current reading by up to 20% and 17%more » for the IsoAid Pd-103 and the Nucletron I-125 seed respectively. Compared to literature correction factors for other seed models, the correction factors in this study diverge by up to 2.6% and 3.0% for iodine (with silver) and palladium respectively, indicating the need for seed-specific factors. Conclusion: The use of seed specific altitude correction factors can reduce uncertainty in the determination of air kerma strength. The empirical correction factors determined in this work can be applied in clinical quality assurance measurements of air kerma strength for two previously unpublished seed designs (IsoAid ADVANTAGE™ {sup 103}Pd and Nucletron selectSeed {sup 125}I) with the HDR 1000 Plus well chamber.« less

Authors:
; ;  [1]
  1. University of Calgary and Tom Baker Cancer Centre, Calgary, AB (Canada)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22545249
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Medical Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 42; Journal Issue: 6; Other Information: (c) 2015 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0094-2405
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
07 ISOTOPES AND RADIATION SOURCES; BRACHYTHERAPY; CORRECTIONS; IODINE; IODINE 125; IONIZATION CHAMBERS; KERMA; PALLADIUM; PALLADIUM 103; PRESSURE VESSELS; RADIATION SOURCE IMPLANTS

Citation Formats

Watt, E, Spencer, DP, and Meyer, T. SU-E-T-123: Anomalous Altitude Effect in Permanent Implant Brachytherapy Seeds. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1118/1.4924484.
Watt, E, Spencer, DP, & Meyer, T. SU-E-T-123: Anomalous Altitude Effect in Permanent Implant Brachytherapy Seeds. United States. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.4924484
Watt, E, Spencer, DP, and Meyer, T. 2015. "SU-E-T-123: Anomalous Altitude Effect in Permanent Implant Brachytherapy Seeds". United States. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.4924484.
@article{osti_22545249,
title = {SU-E-T-123: Anomalous Altitude Effect in Permanent Implant Brachytherapy Seeds},
author = {Watt, E and Spencer, DP and Meyer, T},
abstractNote = {Purpose: Permanent seed implant brachytherapy procedures require the measurement of the air kerma strength of seeds prior to implant. This is typically accomplished using a well-type ionization chamber. Previous measurements (Griffin et al., 2005; Bohm et al., 2005) of several low-energy seeds using the air-communicating HDR 1000 Plus chamber have demonstrated that the standard temperature-pressure correction factor, P{sub TP}, may overcompensate for air density changes induced by altitude variations by up to 18%. The purpose of this work is to present empirical correction factors for two clinically-used seeds (IsoAid ADVANTAGE™ {sup 103}Pd and Nucletron selectSeed {sup 125}I) for which empirical altitude correction factors do not yet exist in the literature when measured with the HDR 1000 Plus chamber. Methods: An in-house constructed pressure vessel containing the HDR 1000 Plus well chamber and a digital barometer/thermometer was pumped or evacuated, as appropriate, to a variety of pressures from 725 to 1075 mbar. Current measurements, corrected with P{sub TP}, were acquired for each seed at these pressures and normalized to the reading at ‘standard’ pressure (1013.25 mbar). Results: Measurements in this study have shown that utilization of P{sub TP} can overcompensate in the corrected current reading by up to 20% and 17% for the IsoAid Pd-103 and the Nucletron I-125 seed respectively. Compared to literature correction factors for other seed models, the correction factors in this study diverge by up to 2.6% and 3.0% for iodine (with silver) and palladium respectively, indicating the need for seed-specific factors. Conclusion: The use of seed specific altitude correction factors can reduce uncertainty in the determination of air kerma strength. The empirical correction factors determined in this work can be applied in clinical quality assurance measurements of air kerma strength for two previously unpublished seed designs (IsoAid ADVANTAGE™ {sup 103}Pd and Nucletron selectSeed {sup 125}I) with the HDR 1000 Plus well chamber.},
doi = {10.1118/1.4924484},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22545249}, journal = {Medical Physics},
issn = {0094-2405},
number = 6,
volume = 42,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}